Well, I mentioned this back before season 2 started, and I'm still following along this line. So, the conspiracy theory goes:
Back in 1943, the US Navy was toying with Einstein's unified field theory. Einstein was trying to wrap his head around his theory of special relativity and to solve the connundrum of superluminal travel (faster than light). He came up with the unified field theory, which sought to unify electromagnetic, strong nuclear, weak nuclear, and gravitational forces. Unifying the fields would also bend light around the device, thus rendering it invisible (which would, in turn, allow the vehicle to travel at superluminal speeds). The navy was particularly interested in the fact that vehicles could be made completely invisible, and set out to work on the UFT themselves.
They implemented a device aboard the USS Eldridge. The first experiment, on July 22nd, was a limited success. Witnesses mentioned that the ship nearly turned invisible, but reported seeing a green fog in its place. Crew aboard the ship reported feeling nauseous.
On October 28th, they attempted the experiment again, after recalibrating the equipment. The ship completely disappeared in a flash of blue light. 600 km away, in Norfolk, VA, witnesses at the naval base reported seeing the USS Edlridge materalize for a few minutes, and disappear again, where it reappeared in Philadelphia, PA.
Crew members aboard the ship became violently ill, and some even suffered from schizophrenia. A number of crew had vanished completely, and five were fused into the bulk heads of the ship.
The crew was discharged from the ship, and brainwashed into forgetting everything that happened that day.
Following the Eldridge failure, the navy opened the Montauk Project at Camp Hero, in Montauk, NY. The scientists of the Philadelphia Experiment proposed to the Department of Defense creating a weapon that would drive the enemy insane. Scientists allegedly took homless people and exposed to electromagnetic radiation, and as a result many died.
Experiments in psychic abilities were conducted, including having people create objects out of thin air.
Researchers also allegedly conducted teleportation experiments, and created a "time tunnel" where they could travel anywhere in time and space. They had also supposedly contacted extraterrestials and exchanged information with them, which boosted the project.
An alien monster found the tunnel, and attacked the base, causing the researchers to shut it down. Researchers also conducted mind control experiments on runaways, which resulted in many more deaths.Researchers brought the USS Eldridge forward in time, where two of the crew members leaped off the ship and into hyperspace. When they arrived at the Montauk lab, they were severely disoriented.One researcher used the mind ehancing system and created a yeti, which destroyed large parts of the base. Researchers then travelled back to the Eldridge and shut down the generators, which destroyed the time tunnel, and killed the yeti.Researchers also created serums to alter human DNA to give them mutant abilities.
So there's the conspiracy theory. It's all bunk, but it makes for an interesting bit of fiction.
How does it play into Lost?
Dharma researchers were likely involved with the Montauk Project and the Philadelphia Experiment. When they were shut down, they sought investments of corporate investors rather than governments. Since many of the experiments conducted by Dharma were not quite on the humane level, a shadow corporation was created so sponsoring corporations could hide their funding from scrutiny. Dharma had found an island that already had a unified electromagnetic field about it in the South Pacific, in an area known as the Devil's Triangle. The Bermuda Triangle has no islands in it, so it doesn't make a good place to do the experiments.
And, as luck would have it, the island already had a small population of people who had been stranded there, people who society knew nothing about. The perfect test subjects. If no one knew they existed, no one would miss them if they were killed during experimentation.
So, Dharma set about performing all sorts of experiments, both on people, and on animals. But, the people the were experimenting on revolted and caused the Dharma Initiative to lose control of the island. The inhabitants now knew how to leave the island, but the island was there home, and had everything they needed, so they decided not to leave.Danielle was sent there as one of the last research groups, but she was caught in the middle of the hostilities.
But, their experiment of the unified field was at a critical stage when everything was shut down. It was the only station that couldn't be abandoned. Dharma had plans on reclaiming the island, and continuing the experiments, so the unified field experiment was "put on hold" until further research could be conducted on it. Kelvin and Radinsky were stationed there to maintain it until Dharma could regroup.
Penny's father knew about the island (since he's an investor in Dharma), which is why he set the stage for Desmond to take the race around the world. The race was ficticous, and intended solely for Desmond. He knew that Desmond would wind up on the island, and because of the island's properties, would be unable to leave. That's how Penny knew how to look for Desmond. She knew what her father was up to, so she hired her own researchers to look for electromagnetic anomalies which would point to where Desmond was.
Mr. Paik was also aware of the island, and setup Jin to take the ill-fated flight, knowing it was bound for the island. He also wanted Jin out of his hair, and probably anticipated Sun on leaving him at the airport.
The plane wasn't intended to crash. That was just a coincidental accident. The plane was bound for the island, either to have the passangers try to reclaim the island from the Others, or to introduce more test subjects for Dharma.
So, that's why Ben says that they're "the good guys". Dharma was performing inhumane tests. It's also why he told Locke that the button did nothing. He didn't know what it did, he just knew it was one of Dharma's experiments that needed to be shut down. He had to have entered the numbers, even though he said he didn't. Perhaps he wanted Locke to stop on his own, rather than someone forcing him to stop. Ben also appears a little messed up, perhaps his new authority has gotten to his head. He was probably the mastermind behind the overthrow of Dharma, but the experiments on him left him a little crazy. He's rescuing whoever he sees fit, and leaving the others to fend for themselves. But within the group, Juliet, and Alex, and others see that Ben has gone mad from the power, and are plotting to overthrow him. But, they've still lived under the opression of Dharma, that they're a little wary of outsiders. After all, they've lived on the island for their whole lives, and the only contact with strangers were there to harm them.
When Desmond activated the failsafe, a time tunnel was briefly opened. He was thrown in, and landed briefly in the future (long enough to see Locke's speech), then tossed back.
Locke, and a few others (like Walt) already have psychic abilities. The island has been enhancing them. But, since there was no orientation to show them how to use it, they're unaware of it.
Theory by Samsquanch
Back in 1943, the US Navy was toying with Einstein's unified field theory. Einstein was trying to wrap his head around his theory of special relativity and to solve the connundrum of superluminal travel (faster than light). He came up with the unified field theory, which sought to unify electromagnetic, strong nuclear, weak nuclear, and gravitational forces. Unifying the fields would also bend light around the device, thus rendering it invisible (which would, in turn, allow the vehicle to travel at superluminal speeds). The navy was particularly interested in the fact that vehicles could be made completely invisible, and set out to work on the UFT themselves.
They implemented a device aboard the USS Eldridge. The first experiment, on July 22nd, was a limited success. Witnesses mentioned that the ship nearly turned invisible, but reported seeing a green fog in its place. Crew aboard the ship reported feeling nauseous.
On October 28th, they attempted the experiment again, after recalibrating the equipment. The ship completely disappeared in a flash of blue light. 600 km away, in Norfolk, VA, witnesses at the naval base reported seeing the USS Edlridge materalize for a few minutes, and disappear again, where it reappeared in Philadelphia, PA.
Crew members aboard the ship became violently ill, and some even suffered from schizophrenia. A number of crew had vanished completely, and five were fused into the bulk heads of the ship.
The crew was discharged from the ship, and brainwashed into forgetting everything that happened that day.
Following the Eldridge failure, the navy opened the Montauk Project at Camp Hero, in Montauk, NY. The scientists of the Philadelphia Experiment proposed to the Department of Defense creating a weapon that would drive the enemy insane. Scientists allegedly took homless people and exposed to electromagnetic radiation, and as a result many died.
Experiments in psychic abilities were conducted, including having people create objects out of thin air.
Researchers also allegedly conducted teleportation experiments, and created a "time tunnel" where they could travel anywhere in time and space. They had also supposedly contacted extraterrestials and exchanged information with them, which boosted the project.
An alien monster found the tunnel, and attacked the base, causing the researchers to shut it down. Researchers also conducted mind control experiments on runaways, which resulted in many more deaths.Researchers brought the USS Eldridge forward in time, where two of the crew members leaped off the ship and into hyperspace. When they arrived at the Montauk lab, they were severely disoriented.One researcher used the mind ehancing system and created a yeti, which destroyed large parts of the base. Researchers then travelled back to the Eldridge and shut down the generators, which destroyed the time tunnel, and killed the yeti.Researchers also created serums to alter human DNA to give them mutant abilities.
So there's the conspiracy theory. It's all bunk, but it makes for an interesting bit of fiction.
How does it play into Lost?
Dharma researchers were likely involved with the Montauk Project and the Philadelphia Experiment. When they were shut down, they sought investments of corporate investors rather than governments. Since many of the experiments conducted by Dharma were not quite on the humane level, a shadow corporation was created so sponsoring corporations could hide their funding from scrutiny. Dharma had found an island that already had a unified electromagnetic field about it in the South Pacific, in an area known as the Devil's Triangle. The Bermuda Triangle has no islands in it, so it doesn't make a good place to do the experiments.
And, as luck would have it, the island already had a small population of people who had been stranded there, people who society knew nothing about. The perfect test subjects. If no one knew they existed, no one would miss them if they were killed during experimentation.
So, Dharma set about performing all sorts of experiments, both on people, and on animals. But, the people the were experimenting on revolted and caused the Dharma Initiative to lose control of the island. The inhabitants now knew how to leave the island, but the island was there home, and had everything they needed, so they decided not to leave.Danielle was sent there as one of the last research groups, but she was caught in the middle of the hostilities.
But, their experiment of the unified field was at a critical stage when everything was shut down. It was the only station that couldn't be abandoned. Dharma had plans on reclaiming the island, and continuing the experiments, so the unified field experiment was "put on hold" until further research could be conducted on it. Kelvin and Radinsky were stationed there to maintain it until Dharma could regroup.
Penny's father knew about the island (since he's an investor in Dharma), which is why he set the stage for Desmond to take the race around the world. The race was ficticous, and intended solely for Desmond. He knew that Desmond would wind up on the island, and because of the island's properties, would be unable to leave. That's how Penny knew how to look for Desmond. She knew what her father was up to, so she hired her own researchers to look for electromagnetic anomalies which would point to where Desmond was.
Mr. Paik was also aware of the island, and setup Jin to take the ill-fated flight, knowing it was bound for the island. He also wanted Jin out of his hair, and probably anticipated Sun on leaving him at the airport.
The plane wasn't intended to crash. That was just a coincidental accident. The plane was bound for the island, either to have the passangers try to reclaim the island from the Others, or to introduce more test subjects for Dharma.
So, that's why Ben says that they're "the good guys". Dharma was performing inhumane tests. It's also why he told Locke that the button did nothing. He didn't know what it did, he just knew it was one of Dharma's experiments that needed to be shut down. He had to have entered the numbers, even though he said he didn't. Perhaps he wanted Locke to stop on his own, rather than someone forcing him to stop. Ben also appears a little messed up, perhaps his new authority has gotten to his head. He was probably the mastermind behind the overthrow of Dharma, but the experiments on him left him a little crazy. He's rescuing whoever he sees fit, and leaving the others to fend for themselves. But within the group, Juliet, and Alex, and others see that Ben has gone mad from the power, and are plotting to overthrow him. But, they've still lived under the opression of Dharma, that they're a little wary of outsiders. After all, they've lived on the island for their whole lives, and the only contact with strangers were there to harm them.
When Desmond activated the failsafe, a time tunnel was briefly opened. He was thrown in, and landed briefly in the future (long enough to see Locke's speech), then tossed back.
Locke, and a few others (like Walt) already have psychic abilities. The island has been enhancing them. But, since there was no orientation to show them how to use it, they're unaware of it.
Theory by Samsquanch
